Chris' Updates

Well, I was planning on leaving for Colorado on Wednesday, but the weather ruined that plan. Instead, I spent the day doing homework and getting some quality "me" time. Thursday, I went with Ashley to the Campbell's Thanksgiving celebration in Greely. There were quite a few relatives that even Ashley didn't know, but the food was great. I got a chance to talk with her grandfather, Bob, and he gave me a bit more of his vast knowledge on guns. It was fun. After the Campbell's, Ashley and I drove back and visted my grandma and aunt. They seem to be doing well. We also visited Ashley's grandmother, and she was thrilled to see me. I really need to visit people more often. Saturday, Ashley needed to catch up with her work, and it was a gorgeous day, so I decided to get really ambitious and clean our garage and make room for a huge bucket freezer. It wasn't too bad, and just when I started to run out of steam, Ashley's mom and uncle showed up to help put ever...

Yesterday was Chris and Holly's wedding, and it was absolutely wonderful! Ashley and Jackie left the house early, about 10 AM, so they could go have their hair done. I lounged around a bit longer. Finally, at about 2:30, I drove to the event center. I met up with the girls. Most of them were already dressed and ready. I changed into my tux and helped Chris with his. Pictures started at about 4. At first we were missing the best man, Ed, but he arrived with impeccable timing. We took many pictures with just about every configuration of family members and bridal party members possible. During much of the process, Ashley took pictures with her new camera, and she got some excellent shots. After the bridal party was released so the photographer could continue family shots, we mostly sat around, complaining about the lack of a lunch meal. As the evening waned and the photos wrapped up, guests started to arrive. After what seemed like an eternity, the ceremony began at about 7. Holly loo...

Well, last weekend was a bit crazy. Friday morning, Kristen was induced into labor with her baby. Ashley decided it was her job to get Kristen through, so she was at the hospital most of Friday and into Saturday. All that time, I was hastily cleaning the house. Saturday morning, my mother arrived, and I spent most of the day with her. In the afternoon, I received the call that Devin had given his mother some trouble coming out, but after an emergency C-section, mother and baby were both wonderful! Sunday I spent more time with Mom, and she came with me on my bus run to Boulder Reservoir. It was a great time, and she found several opportunities to use her new camera. Sunday evening, I went and saw Devin for the first time. Babies are just so tiny when they're first born! This week I've been a working fool, but at least this time I'm choosing my hours. I need to get some money together for the holidays. I had a physics midterm on Tuesday night that went very well. This weeken...

Well, I think I've taken my wardriving to the next level. Currently, I'm in the middle of a bus run to DU , and I'm parked in the bus, nowhere close to anything on campus. (Actually right about here .) However, as I type, I'm connected to the infamous "linksys" wireless access point. Someone in one of the nearby houses did the typical home user thing, and just plugged in their router without setting up any security settings. So now, I'm not stuck trying to walk around south Denver trying to entertain myself. Thank you, linksys. How many people can say they've gone wardriving in a 20-ton bus? In other news, the online music store that I've been using, URGE, has officially shut down, so now I'm stuck finding a new store. It's like PC Club all over again. So for the past couple of days, I've been trying out Rhapsody. My MP3 player, a Sansa e260, is designed to integrate with Rhapsody, and so far I'm impressed. Instead of the way I...

Or this post's alternate title, "Since When Am I an 88M ?" This weekend was my unit's drill, and this time we were slated for weapons qualification at Ft. Carson. Now that I'm the only licensed bus driver in the company, my superiors asked me if I could head down with the advance party on Thursday, one day ahead of the bulk of the company. So, Thursday, I woke up bright and early, and headed over to Fitzsimons to meet up with the rest of the advance party. After a bit of confusion initially, we lined up our three HMMWV 's and our LMTV , loaded our personal gear and my radio gear, and set out for Ft. Carson. The rest of Thursday was rather dull for me, since it was just the other members of the advance party, all senior NCO's (and most nearing retirement) getting ammo, ranges, and the like lined up for Friday. Friday morning, we acquired our bus, and everyone headed out to the range to start setting up. The company showed up earlier than we expected, so we ...